Co-delivery of paclitaxel and doxorubicin using mixed micelles based on the redox sensitive prodrugs

[Display omitted] •A strategy of preparing mixed micelles to achieve co-delivery of PTX and DOX was developed.•DTDPA as a linker containing disulfide bond to achieve redox-sensitive around tumor microenvironment.•The mixed micelles could release anticancer drug DOX and PTX upon cellular reduction simultaneously.•The mixed micelles displayed synergistic effect in vitro and reduced systematic toxicity. A strategy of preparing mixed micelles containing both DOX prodrug and PTX prodrug was developed, i.e., synthesizing a DOX conjugate and a PTX conjugate started with the same biocompatible amphiphilic copolymer, TPGS and DTDPA, a linker containing disulfide bond. The mixed micelles were prepared by co-assembling the two conjugates with a particle size about 98.5 nm. The mixed micelles could release anticancer drug DOX and PTX upon cellular reduction once they came into the cancerous cells. Moreover, the mixed micelles displayed synergistic effect in vitro and the combination therapy in micellar dosage-form led to reduced systematic toxicity and enhanced antitumor efficacy in vivo.